ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE MONITORING AND ENFORCEMENT AT MINES: THE DEPARTMENT OF MINERAL RESOURCES AND ENERGY’S PERFORMANCE DURING THE FINANCIAL YEARS 2017 TO 31 MARCH 2019

This report by the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) evaluates the environmental compliance monitoring and enforcement (CME) performance of the South African Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) between the 2017/18 and 2018/19 financial years. Based on information obtained via the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA), the CER concludes that the DMRE's capacity to monitor and enforce environmental laws at mines remains "woefully inadequate," citing a severe shortage of qualified inspectors and a general decline in inspection activity across most provinces.

• The DMRE lacks sufficient personnel to monitor the 1,856 operating mines in South Africa. As of 31 March 2019, only 108 staff members were designated as Environmental Mineral Resource Inspectors (EMRIs). Most of these are grade 3 compliance officials who lack enforcement powers, with only 2 EMRIs serving as enforcement officials without managerial duties.
• In Mpumalanga, the gap between the number of mines and available inspectors is particularly acute. With 235 operational mines and only 10 designated EMRIs, each inspector would be responsible for approximately 23 mines, a task the report describes as "impossible" when including unauthorised, derelict, and ownerless mines.
• Environmental inspection activity decreased in 6 out of 9 provinces between the 2017/18 and 2018/19 financial years. In Mpumalanga, inspections dropped from 167 in FY2017/18 to 115 in FY2018/19, meaning less than half of the licensed mines in that province were inspected.
• There are discrepancies between the DMRE's annual reports and the data provided via PAIA requests. For FY2017/18, the annual report listed 1,583 environmental compliance inspections, while PAIA data indicated 1,653. For FY2018/19, the annual report listed 1,502, while PAIA data indicated 1,524.
• The DMRE's response to public complaints regarding illegal mining is hindered by a backlog and insufficient staffing at Head Office. In FY2017/18, the DMRE responded to 50% of complaints and closed only 25% of those inspected; in FY2018/19, it inspected 81% of complaints and closed 37%.
• Criminal enforcement is inconsistent across provinces, with no criminal enforcement recorded in the Free State and Northern Cape. In Limpopo, the report notes a decline in the legal process: 52 arrests led to 35 dockets, 20 cases handed to the NPA, and finally 15 successful prosecutions.
• The DMRE received 9 applications under section 24G of NEMA to rectify unlawful commencement of listed activities without authorisation. At the time of the PAIA request, only 4 fines had been issued, and the DMRE reported receiving a total sum of R2,993,000 from these applications.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (n.d.). ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE MONITORING AND ENFORCEMENT AT MINES: THE DEPARTMENT OF MINERAL RESOURCES AND ENERGY’S PERFORMANCE DURING THE FINANCIAL YEARS 2017 TO 31 MARCH 2019. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/DMRE-Environmental-CME-performance-FY2017-2019.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE MONITORING AND ENFORCEMENT AT MINES: THE DEPARTMENT OF MINERAL RESOURCES AND ENERGY’S PERFORMANCE DURING THE FINANCIAL YEARS 2017 TO 31 MARCH 2019. n.d. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/DMRE-Environmental-CME-performance-FY2017-2019.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE MONITORING AND ENFORCEMENT AT MINES: THE DEPARTMENT OF MINERAL RESOURCES AND ENERGY’S PERFORMANCE DURING THE FINANCIAL YEARS 2017 TO 31 MARCH 2019 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/DMRE-Environmental-CME-performance-FY2017-2019.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centreforenvironmentalrightsndenvironmental, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE MONITORING AND ENFORCEMENT AT MINES: THE DEPARTMENT OF MINERAL RESOURCES AND ENERGY’S PERFORMANCE DURING THE FINANCIAL YEARS 2017 TO 31 MARCH 2019}}, institution = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/DMRE-Environmental-CME-performance-FY2017-2019.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }